Bearzerker - D(19), F(4), Brb(4), FB(3)
Description Druid 19 / Fighter 4 / Barbarian 4 / Frenzied Berserker 3 The Bearzerker is a Druid with drastically enhanced melee skills both in and out of Dire Bear form. The Bearzerker is a great class to roleplay, and an extremely powerful and versatile build. Players may also choose the treant form to shift into, if they prefer. I say this build is versatile, because generally you won't want to take the time it takes to fully buff to maximum damage potential, instead you can save the full buff in bear form for dire situations (pun intended). Pro * 25 BAB, an excellent melee fighter in and out of Wild Shape. * Melee Stats are massively enhanced by Druid Buffs and Zerker/FB boosts. * Huge number of Fighter Feats significantly increase abilities in combat. * Good HP Pool. * Ability to cast all druid spells, including the best melee buffs in the game, healing, and fearsome offensive spells. * Persistent and Extend Spell Feats make it so you only have to cast the majority of your buffs once a day. * Still a fierce combatant, even when naked. * Not dependent on any one ability, if you can't shapeshift, you still have huge melee survivability. You have spell options to stay at range if necessary. * Strong character at all levels, fully playable in the Official Campaigns. * You can fully buff your Bearzerker twice per day with extra rages and frenzies. * Very high Fortitude Save, good Will Save. * No alignment changes necessary. * You have a mighty Level 15 Bear pet to fight on your side at all times. * High number of Skill Points at your disposal. Con * Low to very Low AC in Bear Form * Bear Form does not hold up well in Epic-level PVP * Buffing can take several rounds if you want to max-out the build. However, you will be OK with just your 24 hour buffs in most situations. * Wis is not as high as it would be for a pure Druid caster. * Frenzy and Rage have very limited durations, the most you can get it to last is a bit over 2 mintues in real time. * You can't activate Frenzy or Rage while shapeshifted. * Conversations/Game Events can interrupt shape-shifting and your buffs. * Very low Reflex Save Human is the obvious choice here to avoid the XP penalties if you are playing this build for real, plus the extra feat doesn't hurt. However, there's no make-or-break on the race. You must be Chaotic Neutral to allow access to all the necessary classes. You also, can't be too lawful or good or evil in a campaign, or you'll break access to your Frenzied Berserker and Barbarian abilities. It may not be obvious, but the reason the CON here is so high is because it is the sole factor in determining how long Frenzy/Rage lasts. CON gear is very valuable for extending the duration of this period due to the difficulty of shapeshifting out of Bear Form and reactivating the Zerker skills in the middle of combat. Since you're doing the majority of damage via melee, you don't really need a gigantic Wisdom score. Additionally, you won't be going for any epic Druid feats, so having a ridiculous WIS score is not important. You don't need high CHA for anything, and I put 12 in INT for additional Skill Points which are very nice in a real campaign setting. You can save getting your CON to 16 for your first bonus stat point. Notes The Bearzerker is quite fierce in combat, he has great AB and very high damage potential due to Cleave, Improved Cleave, and Supreme Cleave. Additionally, Power Attack and Improved Power Attack are available in bear form. Character Progression I don't do the Unarmed Feats here in favor of some strong Fighter and Druid Feats, which make the build more playable. If you truly want max-damage in the build, you can opt out on some druid Feats in favor of the Unarmed Strike Feats. By taking Fighter/Berserker early, this dramatically increases your survivability in the early stages of most campaigns. General Skills advice: *Don't spend any points on Tumble, you'll eventually get Feats which neutralize the need to make any Tumble checks. *Intimidate is probably going to be your biggest social skill, feel free to spend points in it for campaigning. *Save Spot and Concentration for the Druid Levels. *Feel free to mix up your skills however you like. The only needed skill is 4 points into Spellcraft so that you can get the Practiced Spellcaster feat. General Gameplay Spell List of recommended spells, all other free slots you can use for whatever you like. Level 3 - Extend Spell - Cat's Grace Level 5 - Owl's Insight Level 6 - Superior Resistance, Extend Spell Spell Resistance Level 7 - Extend Spell - Greater Stoneskin Level 8 - Persistent Spell - Bear's Endurance, Persistent Spell - Bull's Strength, Premonition Level 9 - Persistent Spell - Greater Magic Fang, Extend Spell - Storm Avatar Permabuffs You should cast the following spells immediately after you rest. They all last for at least 23 hours: *Owl's Insight *Persistent Spell - Bear's Endurance *Persistent Spell - Bull Strength *Superior Resistance *Extend Spell - Greater Stoneskin *Premonition *Feat - Animal Companion Situational Buffs The following buffs don't have as long of a duration so they should only be used before the appropriate situation. Combat: *Extend Spell Spell Resistance *Extend Spell - Storm Avatar *Feat - Oaken Resilience While in Bear Form: *Persistent Spell - Greater Magic Fang Buffing Up for Combat For an average melee combat situation, you can just get by with just your Permabuffs and use your Frenzy and Rages conservatively. For extreme combat situations, this is the optimal order for buffing: *1.) All Perma Buffs (See Above) *2.) Extend Spell Spell Resistence *3.) Feat - Oaken Resilience *4.) Barbarian Rage *5.) Frenzy *6.) Wild Shape - Dire Bear *7.) Persistent Spell Greater Magic Fang *8.) Extended Spell Storm Avatar You now have over two mintues in this super-buff state. When your Frenzy runs out, your stats do start decreasing, but you are still quite formidable in combat. Optionally, you can also add Flame Weapon into the mix for an additional 1d8 damage per hit. Ability Scores: STR = 41 DEX = 13 CON = 27 INT = 12 WIS = 30 CHA = 8 Saves: Fortitude = 37 Reflex = 17 Will = 33 Spell Resistance = 35 HP = 546 AC = 14 Here's the AB and Damage you can expect: Main Hand Weapon: '''+44/+39/+34/+29/+24 Damage: 2-8 +15 (Critical: 19 - 20 / x2) +5 Physical Damage 2-8 +15 (Critical: 19 - 20 / x2) +5 Physical Damage +3D6 Electrical Damage 2-16 +15 (Critical: 19 - 20 / x2) +5 Slashing Damage Some additional abilities you have in combat are Supreme Cleave, Great Cleave, Spring Attack (can freely move around in combat), ability to move 200% above normal speed, immunity to Missile weapons, immunity to Critical Attacks, Poison, Disease, Sleep, Knockdown, and massive damage reduction. Category:Character builds Category:Melee Character builds Category:Divine Character builds